BOSTON — Elucid, an AI-driven medical technology company dedicated to providing physicians with more precise insights into atherosclerosis for patient-specific treatment decisions, announced the launch of PlaqueIQ, a new image analysis software for quantifying and classifying plaque morphology in the carotid arteries. PlaqueIQ is the first and only CT-based plaque analysis software indicated for the carotid vasculature and is designed to help physicians identify plaques at risk of rupture and develop personalized treatment strategies to prevent ischemic stroke.
PlaqueIQ introduces a breakthrough in stroke risk assessment by enabling non-invasive, histology-based analysis of plaque composition. The platform provides physicians with CT Virtual Histology, offering detailed quantification and classification of plaque morphology and the ability to identify lipid-rich necrotic core—the plaque type most strongly associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.
“The ability to characterize plaque composition precisely revolutionizes carotid stroke risk assessment,” said Dr. David Deaton, surgeon and vascular specialist and adjunct associate professor of Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. “Plaque composition has long been recognized as a critical risk element for stroke but was not available with conventional imaging techniques. Precise determination of plaque composition supersedes the traditional stenosis assessment and allows a more accurate identification of patients at highest risk for carotid stroke and facilitates procedural choice and planning.”
“For years, we’ve used CT to quantify coronary plaque and personalize prevention and, now, being able to do the same with the carotid arteries is a game-changer,” said Dr. Alberto Morales, founder of South Tampa Cardiology. “This technology finally lets us measure and monitor carotid plaque biology, not just anatomy, giving us a much more complete picture of stroke risk and overall vascular health. This is truly the future of vascular medicine.”
PlaqueIQ is the first FDA-cleared, non-invasive plaque analysis tool based on objective histology. It allows physicians to move beyond traditional population-based risk models and instead prioritize and personalize treatment based on individual plaque characteristics in both the coronary and carotid arteries. The technology assists clinicians in evaluating symptoms, assessing risk for future events such as heart attack or stroke, and creating personalized care pathways that reflect the biology of each patient’s disease.
When used together for coronary and carotid imaging, PlaqueIQ provides a unified, quantitative, and qualitative view of systemic atherosclerotic risk, enabling comprehensive vascular assessment through a single non-invasive scan.
“At Elucid, it’s our mission to go after the number one source of heart attack and stroke, and that is plaque wherever it occurs in the coronary or carotid vasculature,” said Kelly Huang, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Elucid. “We envision a day that with just one scan, physicians can gain a powerful understanding of systemic atherosclerotic risk in order to personalize treatment for and monitor the whole patient.”
